G.i. complications while on Bredesen protocol

[jerryb]

My wife has m.c.i. And we are following protocol with a Bredesen practitioner in Toronto area. She is Type 3 ( Toxic ) Predominant. Began protocol ~3 months ago. For past two months she has been consistently in ketosis. She has exercised regularly. She has taken all supplements plus female hormones though 78 years old. She is also prescribed special thyroid medication because of her test readings. I feel that she has not slipped much but has not shown progress either over the three months and even the months before that when we were improving her already good diet but not cutting out enough carb foods. She has done an initial chelation of four weeks oral med-dmsa? and nutrients via I.v. She is scheduled to begin full 20 week course of main cheating agent - EDTA ?
Throughout this treatment she has experienced ongoing g.i. Symptoms with a likely diagnosis of IBS of the constipated type. She had had constipation for years previously but had achieved fairly good bowel control on Restoralax - varying doses - daily. Six weeks ago had a colonoscopy and has had worse g.i. symptoms since then mainly with periodic diarrhea.
Seven days ago she began having swelling in ankles and feet and is quite lethargic much of the day. We have discontinued the Bredesen supplements that include Ashgawanda and discontinued the female hormones. The suspicion is that she has dysbiosis possibly with SIBO.
Wondering if others have had g.i. symptoms while on Bredesen Protocol and what that has done to their course to recovery. She has also gone out of ketosis totally for past three days while she continues to have symptoms.
I wonder about the possible interaction of g.i. functioning and her cognitive functioning. Could her cognitive functioning over the years have been affected by IBS with possible “leaky gut syndrome”? One of the side effects listed for dysbiosis or SIBO is mental foginess and memory problems. It is hard for me to assess how much the recent gut flare up may be influencing her cognitive performance since I see fluctuations day to day and even in the course of a day. Would appreciate any feedback others may have on this gut and brain connection.

[NF52]

My wife has m.c.i. And we are following protocol with a Bredesen practitioner...Six weeks ago had a colonoscopy and has had worse g.i. symptoms since then mainly with periodic diarrhea.
Seven days ago she began having swelling in ankles and feet and is quite lethargic much of the day. We have discontinued the Bredesen supplements that include Ashgawanda and discontinued the female hormones. The suspicion is that she has dysbiosis possibly with SIBO...she continues to have symptoms .

Hi JerryB,
You are clearly a loving and devoted husband. And so I hope you take this advice with the compassion and concern I feel for both you and your wife:

Please take her tonight or tomorrow to the best Emergency hospital center to have a team of experts figure out what’s going on. I recently saw a cousin who is 71, usually healthy and active but with a long history of auto-immune issues. So when she started to have gut issues and lethargy she just assumed it was diet, or “stomach bug” and then told herself and her worried husband that she didn’t feel well enough to brush her hair to go to her own doctor. Even after she fainted. She ended up in the hospital for 8 days, with what she described as 10 IV bags and a very worried team of doctors due to horrible blood counts. She’s still not out of the woods. Swollen ankles and lethargy could be a serious cardiac issue, with her heart unable to pump blood back. Or it could be minor. But this isn’t the place to find an answer. She’s 78 years old; her cognitive status is not the “presenting problem” until this other issue is resolved. Good luck, JerryB; let us know how both of you are doing.

[jerryb]

Thanks for the response and concern. I have taken my wife to two walk-in and one regularly scheduled Dr's appointments in the last ten days and and she has had two rounds of fairly extensive lab tests. G.P. is in regular contact with me and she has scheduled Echo cardiogram and a referral to an Internal medicine team in addition to an appointment with a g.i. specialist. If there were an increase in symptoms we would go to an emergency unit. I think it is in part due to female hormone replacement therapy ( now discontinued ) and her gut issues.

[NF52]

Thanks for the response and concern. I have taken my wife to two walk-in and one regularly scheduled Dr's appointments in the last ten days and and she has had two rounds of fairly extensive lab tests. G.P. is in regular contact with me and she has scheduled Echo cardiogram and a referral to an Internal medicine team in addition to an appointment with a g.i. specialist. If there were an increase in symptoms we would go to an emergency unit. I think it is in part due to female hormone replacement therapy ( now discontinued ) and her gut issues.

Thanks for the update!! I should have known you would have the situation well in hand. It sounds like your G.P. is a “great physician”, who is willing to bring others in to figure out what’s going on.
I hope calmer days are ahead.
For what it’s worth, I just saw an article about the value of helping people with mild cognitive impairments re-learn functional skills that are meaningful to them, by breaking down tasks into small steps. (Sometimes called “task analysis”.)
For example, a man who was afraid to take a walk because he might get lost and couldn’t remember how to use a cell phone, was given very short chunks of info on using the phone until he could do it. Then practiced calling from within the house, then the front walk, then down the block. His cognitive scores didn’t improve, but his independence and mood improved greatly because he had a procedural skill he valued. Your wife may similarly be able to re-learn or adapt functional skills with some coaching. In the U.S., occupational therapists or speech-language pathologists, especially those who work with people who have experienced brain injuries, are often skilled at designing workarounds for memory issues.
Hugs from someone who used to live across the “pond” south of Toronto.

[circular]

Hi jerryb, the Wiki page on the vagus nerve might be of interest, since it's central to the gut-brain axis. From there you might want to explore genes and status related to choline and phosphatidylcholine, since these are important in the antiinflammatory cholinergic pathway, that I think acts on the vagus nerve. I'm sketchy here and not a scientist or health practioner of any kind.

You and your wife are doing a great job. So many of us experience these bumps on the road while managing our brain health. Many of us have improved our cognition evenso. Keep up the good work.

[jerryb]

Good news. My wife’s swelling in feet and ankle is almost completely gone. And she seems somewhat more energetic. Now for the powers that be to analyze what the heck caused it in the first place. I continue to wonder about her IBS and how it has interacted with her cognitive decline.

[NF52]

Good news. My wife’s swelling in feet and ankle is almost completely gone. And she seems somewhat more energetic. Now for the powers that be to analyze what the heck caused it in the first place. I continue to wonder about her IBS and how it has interacted with her cognitive decline.

Thanks for sharing the good news update! Your wife is a lucky woman, in the all ways that truly matter.

[Richard McG]

So glad to hear things have improved Jerry!!
Curious also in TO area. Would you mind sharing your Bredesen practitioner? New to the site and would really like to learn more from a professional.
Cheers
Rick

[dcox]

So glad to hear things have improved Jerry!!
Curious also in TO area. Would you mind sharing your Bredesen practitioner? New to the site and would really like to learn more from a professional.
Cheers
Rick

Welcome Rick
We're glad you found this community, you will find that the members here are passionate about reversing, preventing and stopping AD in its tracks! You said you would like to learn more from a professional so you might check out The Primer it is amazing, giving you great information about ApoE4 and the journey to prevention, reversal and stopping AD, one of our of our most active members, Stavia, put it together she is a Dr. and E4/E4 herself, she truly put her heart into writing it. If you want to take a deeper dive into specific topics our Wiki Page is loaded with information. This page will help you to navigate the site more efficiently "How-To" Get the most out of the ApoE4.info website.

A very simple answer to your No gluten pasta question is that gluten can be a detriment to gut health (causing leaky gut) which is connected to brain health, it can be a major contributor to chronic inflammation, which we want to eliminate as much as possible in our fight against AD. There is a divergence as to the "why". Is it gluten, is it the chemicals wheat and other grains are treated with, is it a sensitivity or an allergy? With all of that said a lot of people feel better not eating gluten, no matter what the exact cause is. I know that is not a very scientific explanation, there are many posts on the site that get into more specifics about gluten. I couldn't put my finger on just one that gave a concise explanation.

We would love to hear more about you and your journey, feel free to post on the Our Stories page anytime.

Find your joy and hope in each new day and each new discovery along your path,
Deb

[jerryb]

Rick,
Our practitioner is Dr. Knipping at Deerfields Clinic. Will do a one time consultation for free but nothing is covered under OHIP if you choose to proceed and you must sign up with Bredesen group in States. Jerry